VZCZCXRO3848
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDF RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHPB
RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRL #0796 1821518
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011518Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4506
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC 0130
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRL/USDAO BERLIN GE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUCUSTR/USSTRATCOM OFFUTT AFB NE

UNCLAS BERLIN 000796 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER 
STATE FOR ISN/MDSP DICK BUENNEKE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPA EINV ETRD PGOV PREL PINR GM
SUBJECT: CHALLENGES ON THE HORIZON FOR GERMAN IMAGERY 
SATELLITE START-UP 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 788 
     ¶B. 08 BERLIN 1537 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  German satellite imagery provider 
RapidEye AG's current business model as a value-added imagery 
provider is likely not sustainable and they may be forced 
restructure to survive. The firm,s primary target 
customers-- commodity traders and the insurance 
industry--appear to want to manipulate and interpret raw data 
themselves.  In addition, cash flow problems may force them 
to trim staff and other expenses.  If problems continue, they 
may become an attractive buy-out target to other imagery 
players in the space.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
PROBLEMS WITH BUSINESS MODEL AND CASH FLOW 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) RapidEye's original business plan focused on being 
a provider of finished analytical product, imaging the health 
and condition of large areas of biomass to worldwide 
insurance industry and agricultural commodity traders, but 
the apparent lack of interest from these customers is forcing 
RapidEye into a raw data provider paradigm.  In addition, the 
company appears to be facing significant cash flow problems, 
with staff expenses outpacing income, in addition to the 
burden of repaying 160 million euro in start-up debt.  Based 
on our analysis of RapidEye's three-year revenue outlook, 
their current best case scenario will likely not generate 
enough revenue to cover their current operational costs while 
paying back their investors.  As a result, the likelihood of 
job cuts and company restructuring is becoming more realistic. 
 
 
THE PROBLEM WITH BEING ONLY A DATA PROVIDER 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) RapidEye does not own intellectual property rights 
to their spacecraft or to the instruments used to capture 
multi-spectral imagery, which presents an additional 
challenge to their long-term viability.  Even if RapidEye 
adjusts its business model to be a data-only provider, 
competition is almost certain to increase and siphon market 
share.  RapidEye would much rather establish itself as the 
world niche leader in multi-spectral based value added 
product and analysis, something much more difficult to 
replace. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) RapidEye has likely transitioned into survival mode 
and sees selling minimally-processed land cover data to the 
Chinese and US markets as having the most potential to 
rectify their cash flow problems.  RapidEye has even offered 
direct downlink services of their data to prospective 
customers in an effort to expand business (ref A).  This is 
in contradiction to a comment RapidEye CEO Wolfgang 
Biedermann made last year (please see ref B) when he said, 
"we do not like this idea at all (direct data downlink), it 
is our data, and we want to control our archives."  Unless 
substantial new sales of value-added products can be 
established in major global markets such as China and the US 
-- particularly in the defense and security sectors -- 
RapidEye's enterprise may not be sustainable over the longer 
term.  If their business model fails, it is likely that the 
company may be the subject of a buyout or outside takeover. 
If a RapidEye buyout becomes a reality, we see Astrium GmbH 
(Friedrichshafen) jointly with their daughter company, 
Infoterra GmbH, as the most likely suitor.  This hypothetical 
likelihood is based on how complimentary RapidEye's imagery 
would be to Infoterra's current imagery product offerings and 
recent high ranking engagements Astrium and Infoterra 
associates have had with RapidEye. 
Koenig